Kekkei Genkai Unit
by OctobersRequiem
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto transfers to Konoha High School because of an unfortunate event that occurred two years previously. Come to find out, he's not the only one with an unusual past, or an unusual ability. Naru/Sasu
1. Konoha High School

**Disclaimer: All of the Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto-sensei! **

**A/N - This is my first fic, I hope you like it and please go easy on me!! ^.^**

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* * *

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Uchiha Sasuke was bored as he sat at his desk, completely ignoring the teacher and staring out the window. It's not like the lecture he was giving was something Sasuke didn't already know.

He sighed and pulled his neck side-to-side, satisfied when it made a loud _pop _and the tension there was relieved.

"_Sasuke-kun._"

Sasuke heard Haruno Sakura's whisper but acted as if he didn't. He would never willingly engage in conversation with her. She was annoying.

"_Sas-uke-kuuun...."_

Sasuke continued looking out the window, hoping she'd get the hint and leave him alone.

Something was touching Sasuke's shoulder, and he had no problem figuring out what it was. Sakura was poking him with her pencil. He clenched his fist under his desk and fought the urge to turn around and yell at her to leave him alone. Taking a deep breath, he unwillingly rotated his to glare at her.

"What?" He snapped, not even bothering to make an effort to whisper.

_"This Friday, do you wanna go on a date?" _Sakura asked, still whispering, even though Sasuke's voice had gotten the attention of over half the class. The teacher had apparently failed to notice though. Too bad.

"No." He said coldly, turning his head to look out the window again.

Mocking laughter erupted from behind Sasuke and he took a deep breath, wishing that he could just leave class early rather than listen to what he knew was coming. He had better things to be doing than just sitting here.

"Shut up, Ino-pig!" Sakura shrieked, jumping to her feet and pointing a finger at Yamanaka Ino.

"Why should I?" Ino taunted, "It's not like Sasuke is ever going to be interested in _you_, what with your forehead being large enough for a sun to revolve around."

Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to will himself out of the classroom. He didn't care where he ended up, as long as he didn't have to listen to these two go at it _again_. He'd seriously rather be in an alternate dimension playing ninja with a bunch of twelve year olds than in this school.

"Sakura, Ino." Kakashi-sensei had finally stopped writing notes on the board and decided to intervene. "How many times do I have to tell you not to fight in my class?"

"It was Ino-pig's fault." Sakura said, her finger still pointing at Ino in dire accusation. "She thinks she's so much better than me, and keeps acting like Sasuke-kun likes her!"

"I'm not acting like I'm better than you, I _am _better than you." Ino said slyly. "And given the choice, Sasuke would totally choose me over you."

"As far as _I _can tell," Kakashi interrupted, sounding bored. "Sasuke isn't interested in either of you, which makes your rivalry not only a hindrance to my teaching, but pointless."

Sakura and Ino gaped at Kakashi, as the class erupted with laughter. "Sakura, since you're standing, would you mind picking up where I left off?"

Sakura scowled and picked up her textbook, trying to figure out which section they were in.

Meanwhile, Sasuke hadn't been paying attention to any of this. His eyes were still focused out the window, but instead of looking at nothing in particular like he usually did, his gaze actually had a subject.

On the grounds below, a boy with blond hair had just punched whoever was standing in front of him in the face so hard, that he shot a few feet up in the air before falling to the ground in a heap.

_'Hn.' _Sasuke thought.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto was not happy with the way his first day of school had started out. He was even more unhappy with where he was now. He looked into the eyes of the student-council president over the large desk between them. It was piled high with papers that looked like they'd been sitting there for months.

"I'm guessing you're the new transfer student?" The student-council president asked, "How troublesome."

Naruto had just opened his mouth to confirm that he was, but apparently that had been a rhetorical question so he snapped in shut again. The student-council president scratched his hair, pulling a few strands of hair loose from his ponytail. "Look, I don't know why you punched Inuzuka in the face, and I don't care. Just don't do it again. Writing up reports is a pain."

"Dude," Naruto said, relieved and dumbfounded that he was off the hook, "How did you even get elected student-council president?" He really was astounded that someone who looked so lazy could get the job.

"Beats me, I didn't even lobby for it. It just kind of happened." He said, shrugging his shoulders and tilting his head toward the window. "The weather looks nice today."

"It is." Naruto said, unsure of whether he was allowed to go or not. "Er...so...?" Naruto was just about to ask if he was free to go, when the door slammed open.

"Shikamaru!" A middle-aged blond woman of about average height walked in with an angry look on her face. "_How _many times do I have to come down here and tell you that you need to schedule the meetings with the individual class-reps to assign rooms for the cultural festival?"

"Apparently fifteen." Shikamaru said, yawning. "I'll get around to it."

"You've said that fourteen times already." The woman accused, "And it's still not done. Dammit, Shikmaru, I didn't give you the job of student-council president for this reason. Be more responsible."

"I didn't want the job." Shikamaru pointed out. "Sorry, Tsunade-sensei. I was getting around to sorting all that out when I got interrupted."

"Interrupted?" Tsunade blinked around, her vision focusing on Naruto like she just realized he was there. "Are you a student of this school?" She asked him.

"I just transferred in today." Naruto said grudgingly. He really didn't like being treated like he didn't exist. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Right," She said, as if it was all coming back to her. "I forgot we got a transfer today." She turned to Shikamaru. "So why is he here? You should have sent him to his classes already."

"He punched Inuzuka Kiba." Shikamaru shrugged. "Asuma-sensei sent him here."

Tsunade rounded on Naruto. He shrank back a little in his chair as she bent down toward him. "Let's get one thing straight, Uzumaki Naruto. I do not tolerate violence or fighting of any kind within in my school, especially violence for no reason. I know it's high school and things happen, but unless you had a real reason to fight, you're in tons of trouble."

"I did have a reason!" Naruto said immediately, and regretted the words the second they were out of his mouth.

"Out with it then."

"Um...well...he..."

Tsunade stared at him expectantly.

"He...about....my family....um...." Naruto struggled with the words..

The look on Tsunade's face changed so fast that Naruto didn't even see it happen. "Shikamaru," She said, standing up. "Send Inuzuka to my office. Uzumaki, get to class. You only missed two hours, so you're not too late. Tell your teacher you were with me."

With that, she walked out.

"Who the hell was that?" Naruto eventually asked Shikamaru.

"The principal." He said shrugging.

"Huh."

"Yep."

"She always like that?"

"Yep."

"This school seems a little weird."

"Welcome to Konoha High." Shikamaru said, turning his face away from the window to smirk at Naruto. "We're all freaks he-e-e-r-..." The sentence trailed off into a yawn, but Naruto got the gist of it.

Well, _that's _reassuring, he thought.

* * *

Naruto made his way to class 2-D slowly, trying to find a way to delay the inevitable. He stood in front of the door and sighed heavily before sliding it open.

The whole class looked over at him, but he fixed his eyes on who he assumed was the teacher. The man holding the chalk, with gray hair and a scarf wrapped around the lower part of his face, despite the sweltering heat. At least, he hoped it was the teacher.

"Um...I'm the transfer student." He said, "Uzumaki Naruto." He forced his gaze to remain on the teacher as the room erupted with whispers.

_"Did he just say Uzumaki?"_

_ "As in the Uzumaki incident from two years ago?"_

_ "No way."_

_ "Then that can't seriously be..."_

Naruto's hands started twitching. He curled them into fists out of habit.

"You're late." The teacher told him, staring at him with two different colored eyes. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

"You really don't have room to talk, Kakashi-Sensei." A clear voice rang out about the others. Naruto's gaze shifted toward the source and landed on a raven haired boy who's face was turned to the window.

"It's not my fault I was late this morning. There was this old lady riding a bike, and she didn't realize she was going downhill and..."

"Whatever." The boy said, still not looking away from the window.

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh?" The teacher, Kakashi-sensei, turned back to him. "Welcome to Konoha High, D-Block, Kekkai Genkai unit. You can go ahead and sit down wherever you want."

Naruto nodded and looked around the class as fast as he could. There was only one open seat and that was behind the boy who had just spoken. Naruto practically lunged for it without looking around him. He didn't need to see the looks on their faces, he already knew.

He sank into his chair and closed his eyes, trying to block out the whispers around him.

"Settle down." Kakashi called and the class quieted. "I'm going to make this clear right now. No one is to bother Naruto about his past, and I'm sure anyone who does is someone who wouldn't mind _their _pasts coming to light." The few remaining whisperers snapped their mouths shut.

"Now then, Naruto, I'll give you a brief explanation of the way things work around here."

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he stared at the teacher.

"On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, we have regular classes, your basic history, English, etc. On Wednesdays and Thursdays the schedule changes a bit, and we have classes specifically designed for the Kekkai Genkai unit. I'm not sure if you know this, but this isn't an entirely normal school you just transferred to. At least not the part your in."

"What do you mean?" He asked, blond brows furrowed in confusion.

"You'll see on Wednesday." Kakashi said, "Annnnd, that's lunch! Be back in an hour!" Kakashi said, before sitting down at his desk and pulling out a book with an alarmingly orange cover.

Naruto was very confused for quite a few reasons, but his main one was he was going to do for lunch. He hadn't even thought about it, and it's not like he had had the chance to make any friends. Not that he'd make any anyways.

With a sigh, he pushed his chair out and stood up. He supposed he could go get some bread at the cafeteria and just eat it wherever there weren't people around...his thoughts trailed off, until he slammed into something hard.

Before Naruto could comprehend what was happening he was toppling forward with whoever he had slammed into. He caught a brief flash of dark hair as he tried to maneuver himself away from falling into the desks, which he failed at miserably because the person he'd run into was trying to do the same.

He landed on top of the boy who had been sitting in front of him, their lips pressed together from the strange position they'd ended up in. He was staring into an extremely dark pair of eyes, which were glaring back.

He jumped to his feet instantly and stumbled a few steps backward.

Screams erupted around him, angry screams. He looked around for the first time since he'd gotten to class. Almost every girl in the room was wailing in outrage, particularly a girl with pink hair and a girl with blond. Naruto swallowed before he glanced at the boy who had just pulled himself to his feet.

"I'm sorr..."

"You are _so _dead." The guy said, before raising his fist and punching Naruto square in the face.

**A/N - And that's the first chapter! I hope you like it! **


	2. Kekkei Genkai

**Disclaimer: All of the Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto-sensei. (Sadly)**

**A/N - The second chapter! I wrote it in a bit of a rush, so I'm sorry if it's not as good as the first. Hope you like it! ^.^**

* * *

Sasuke pointedly glared away from Naruto, who was glaring directly at him. Unfortunately and unintentionally, Sasuke's glare ended up on Shizune, Tsunade's secretary, who paled a few shades when she glanced up at Sasuke from her desk.

Being sent to Tsunade's office was not on Sasuke's to do list today. Neither was punching someone for that matter. He had just wanted to ignore the world until school was over, go home, shower, do his homework, eat and go to bed.

He did the punching without thinking. A reflexive habit that always acts up when someone was too close. His mind just shouted the words at him and he reacted accordingly. Sasuke didn't like people close to him, in his space. He didn't trust people enough for that.

So, he punched him.

Which caused an uproar, and Kakashi sending both of them to Tsunade's office. Sasuke had been to Tsunade's office a few times before, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. So, as far as Sasuke could tell, his presence here was entirely the fault of the idiot klutz sitting next to him.

"We've called both of your guardians," Shizune said from her desk, where she was sorting through papers. "They should be here by the time Tsunade is ready to see you."

"What?" Naruto said, shifting his gaze to Shizune. "You called my guardian?"

"Standard procedure." She told him. "This school has a strict no violence policy. We don't give out warnings, we immediately contact parents and give out strict punishments."

Sasuke huffed at this. It wouldn't take his guardian too long to get here, and it wasn't like he didn't know what was going on, he'd witnessed the entire thing.

Naruto groaned. The last thing he needed was that guy showing up here and making his first day worse. And as if Naruto's thoughts had summoned him, Jiraiya walked through the door.

"Naruto!" He said, his voice torn between humor and scolding. "Of all the things I expected, being called in to the principals office on the first day was not on my list. I thought you could make it a few days before I had to show up here."

"It's not my fault." Naruto whined. "Before I knew what was happening, this guy," Naruto jerked his head in Sasuke's direction. "Had punched me in the face for no reason."

Sasuke swiveled his body in his chair and glared at Naruto, who looked pointedly away. Jiraiya sighed. "Naruto, you need to take responsibility for you own actions, not blame other people."

"I am taking responsibility." Naruto told him. "By telling you that it was an accident and that guy overreacted."

Sasuke was practically glaring daggers at Naruto now.

"If this is anyones fault," Sasuke said, in a low, seething voice, "It's yours."

"How is this my fault?" Naruto snapped. "You completely overreacted. You didn't even give me a chance to _apologize_."

"As if _you_..." Sasuke started, raising his voice, but was cut off my Jiraiya.

"All I know is you too interrupted me when I was just about to get my publisher to agree to finally go out and drink with me! So as far as I can tell, you're both to blame for ruining my date!"

The door behind Shizune's desk banged open. "_Why _is it so loud out here!" Tsunade said, walking into the outer office. She glanced at Shizune, and then the two boys sitting in the waiting chairs, and then at Jiraiya.

"EH?!" Jiraiya and Tsunade said at the same time, pointing at each other.

"You!" They said in unison, before bursting out into laughter.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Tsunade asked, "I haven't seen you since college!"

"I heard that there was an extremely attractive principal here and thought I'd try my luck!" Jiraiya said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "I always wanted to try the teacher-student thing."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and Naruto, who had sunken down into his chair, groaned in embarrassment. This was the problem with having his guardian called. The man hit on everything that moved. Sasuke was ignoring the entire room, to the best of his abilities, when the door from the halway opened.

"Yo." Kakashi said, causing Sasuke to stiffen. Yes, another annoyance is just what he needed. "Sorry I'm late."

"You're always late, Kakashi." Tsunade said, waving her hand airily. "Now would someone mind telling me what is going on here?"

Shizune jumped to her feet. "Sorry, Tsunade. I didn't get a chance to inform you since you were in the middle of a phone call, but these two," She motioned toward Naruto and Sasuke. "Were sent here for fighting. I already went ahead with the standard procedures and contacted their guardians."

Tsunade looked at the two in question. "Uzumaki Naruto! You again? What did I tell you just this morning?!" She regarded him with narrowed eyes.

Naruto held both of his hands up in surrender. "I didn't hit anyone this time!" He said, "That guy is the one who hit _me_."

She looked at Sasuke. "Is that true?" She asked, crossing her arms over her rather large chest.

Sasuke spared her a glance before looking away defiantly. She sighed.

"Then would you all mind stepping into my office?" She asked, "Though Kakashi, you've been through this with Sasuke before and lunch is about to end, so I suppose you can just go back to class."

"Whatever you say." He said, before walking out. Sasuke started to get out of his chair and go after him when Tsunade caught him around the wrist. "Not so fast, Uchiha. I never said you were dismissed."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her.

"Don't look at me that way. I still have to give you your punishment."

Sasuke glared at her even more.

"So, Tsunade" Jiraiya said, as the walked into her office. "How has life been since college? I just _know_ you've spent everyday thinking about me with longing and remorse that we never went out before graduation."

Tsunade scoffed as she closed the door behind them. Shizune let out a sigh of relief as she was left by herself, the tension in the room reduced to none.

Those Uchiha's really made things tense

* * *

Naruto sighed as he collapsed on top of his bright orange comforter. A _months _worth of detentions with that guy. Not a week, not two weeks, no, a _month_.

He grumbled angrily before getting up to go shower. He caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror, and saw the huge bruise that covered most of his right cheek. _Great_, he thought, _as if this is going to help with the making friends thing._

The rest of class had not been a fun experience. Naruto could feel all of the girls glaring at him every chance they got, and the guy who sat in front of him, who's name he had learned was Sasuke, had pulled Naruto's chair out from under him just to spite him. Yeah, things at this school were going to go just great.

By the time Naruto had gotten out of the shower, he could hear Jiraiya yelling that dinner was ready. With a sigh, he went to his dresser and pulled out some pajamas. Pausing momentarily to stare at the picture of his parents, who were both smiling brightly. His heart clenched at just seeing their faces. He slammed the picture face down before even thinking about it.

He'd told Jiraiya he didn't want any pictures of his parents in the house, least of all in his room, on his dresser, mocking him for the mistakes of his past.

He didn't need to be reminded of what a screw up he was, he already knew.

* * *

Sasuke woke up with a feeling of dread washing over him, and it took him a moment to remember why. He had a months worth of detentions because of that idiot. He glanced at the clock. Six-thirty in the morning. He had time to train before going to school.

He crawled out of bed and got in the shower. The water was soothing on his knotted muscles, relieving all of the stress that had been worked up the day before.

Sasuke pulled his uniform on with practiced ease, and headed outside, grabbing a bagel from the kitchen on his way.

An hour later, he was exhausted and panting, laying on his back in the yard. After only two shots? No, he could do better than that. He climbed to his feet, and closed his eyes to focus, holding his hands out in front of him.

"Chidori!" Little flecks of lightning began to build around him palms. _More_, he thought, _more! _The flecks of lightning began to grow and multiply.

"I told you that twice was your limit."

Sasuke jumped. He'd been so absorbed by what he was doing that he hadn't even noticed Kakashi's presence. He turned around to look at his guardian, who was leaning against their back door, regarding him with eyes the clearly implied he was in for a lecture.

"I also told you not to practice outside."

"Yeah, and not in the house. Only at school." Sasuke glared. "How am I supposed to get stronger if I can't _practice_?"

"You practice two days a week. At school. Which _is _the only place you should be practicing."

Sasuke glared at him. "And you know better than to try for a third shot. I've told you already, it won't happen. You're lucky you can even get two. Lightning manipulation is too dangerous and too complicated to mess with haphazardly, Sasuke. It could kill you."

"I think I'll survive." Sasuke snapped. "If I'm going to be limited to two shots for the rest of my life, I'd rather die. Such a weak attack won't help me kill Itachi."

"Sasuke," Kakashi's tone was growing more dangerous by the word. "You're lucky you even have a Kekkai Genkai at _all_. It's rare for two members of immediate family to have an ability. Itachi had one, so you're chance of getting one were down to nothing. But you got _two_, the sharingan and lightning manipulation, don't be so selfish."

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He'd heard all of this too many times before. The whole one-ability-per-generation-be-thankful speech. He was willing to bet his eyes he knew what was coming next too.

"And developing your abilities for the sake of revenge won't get you very far anyways. Revenge, however it important it may seem to you, isn't going to help your growth go any faster. You have time, Sasuke, so don't waste it."

Yep. Someone owed him another set of Sharingans.

"You're gonna be late. So get to school."

"What about you?" Sasuke asked, knowing full well what was coming next. "You're going to be late too."

"I have something to do."

Right again. He'd lived with Kakashi too long.

* * *

Naruto sat down at his desk and pulled out his books, trying to blend in as much as possible. Which he knew wouldn't work. It never worked.

"Hey."

Naruto looked up from his books and saw the pink-haired girl he had noticed yesterday standing next to his desk. She didn't look angry, exactly, but she didn't look friendly either.

"Hey." He said back, mainly because she was looking at him expectantly. "Um....?"

"Haruno." She said. "Haruno Sakura."

"Nice to meet you." He said uncomfortably. "So...?"

"What was it like?" She demanded suddenly, bending down and putting her elbows on his desk. "Was it amazing? I bet it was amazing. There's no way it could have been bad."

"What? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Kissing Sasuke-kun, of course!" She said brightly. "I was totally jealous at first, but it _was _an accident, so I decided to forgive you."

"Well, thanks. I guess."

"So was he a good kisser?" She asked

"Er..." Naruto said, shifting in his seat. "I really didn't notice one way or the other."

"What?!" She looked at him in shock. "How could you _not _notice? You were kissing _the _Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Well, I was a bit distracted by being punched in the face."

"Oh, right!" She laughed, "I forgot about that. How's your cheek?" She reached out her hand and twisted his face all the way toward her. "Well, that's not too bad."

Naruto noticed a green glow from the corner of his eyes. It seemed to be coming from her hand. "There!" She said. "All fixed!"

Naruto was confused for a few seconds, but then he realized the aching in his cheek had disappeared completely. "How did you do that?" He demanded, eyes wide.

"It's my Kekkei Genkai! Part of it, anyways. I just focus my energy to my hands and it heals, depending on what energy I use. I have two. If I focus my other energy to my hands, I could level this building with one punch. It's the whole destruction-rebirth thing. Healing and breaking. Yin, yang."

She talked a lot, Naruto noticed. "Kekkei Genkai?"

"You mean you seriously don't know?" She looked amazed. "I can't believe no one explained it to you, especially since you were around the government. The officials _love_ talking about it." She sat down in Sasuke's unoccupied chair, and turned to face him. "It's the whole reason you're here. A Kekkei Genkai is an ability passed down through DNA. Usually only one person per generation gets one, but sometimes it's two or three people who have it. Like the Hyuugas."

Naruto didn't know if he was supposed to know who the Hyuugas were so he just did a kind of half nod. "Everyone on D-Block has a Kekkai Genkai, which is why this is the Kekkai Genkai unit of the school. The rest of the school is totally normal. Anyhow, basically everyone on this side of the building has a special ability, and some are really dangerous, which is why violence is so against the rules here."

"Oh." Naruto said, comprehension dawning on him. "So what I have is a Kekkei Genkai?" He asked.

"Yep." She smiled. "You were sent to this school because they teach you how to handle it here. Some of the students have known about it since birth, though usually abilities don't develop until around puberty. The Hyuugas and Uchihas are old noble families who have passed down the secret for generations. The rest of us found out about ours by accident and were sent here by the government. Just like you were."

"How did you know I was sent here by the government?" Naruto asked. He could hardly keep up with everything she was saying.

"Well, there's no way you _couldn't _have been, I mean, after what happened two yea...."

"You're in my seat." Naruto stiffened as he realized Sasuke's presence. "Move."

"Kya! Sasuke-kun!" Sakura jumped to her feet. "Sorry, I didn't realize I'd been sitting here so long."

"Whatever."

"So...um...I'll talk to you later then, Naruto." Sakura said as the bell rang, and she resumed her usual seat on Sasuke's right. Sasuke looked out the window to his left for the entire twenty minutes it took Kakashi to arrive, and continued to look out the window after he did and class started. The only classes he paid any attention to were the ones on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The rest were useless to him, considering he'd learned most of it before he was eight.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke a few times throughout class and noticed the tense set of his shoulders, and the aura of hatred and annoyance he was emitting. It seemed like Naruto wasn't the only one he had a problem with. He just didn't like anybody.

_Yeah, _Naruto thought to himself, _you especially. And you get to spend two hours locked in a room with him._

Oh yeah, detention was going to be fun.


	3. Friends and Wednesday Classes

**A/N - Here is the third chapter! It took a while to write, as I wasn't very sure where I was going with it, but it is done! This fic is unbeta'd so please ignore any spelling errors.**

**Also, has anyone noticed how I keep spelling Kekkei with an A instead of an E? I know it's spelled with an E but it keep coming out spelled 'Kekkai' Stupid fingers, typing to fast for their own good!!**

**Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy! ^.^  
**

* * *

Detention had been a silent affair, much to Naruto's relief. He wondered if they could pull off the next twenty-nine days in silence as well, because he was sure the second the Uchiha opened his mouth, blood would be shed.

Quiet was just the better option.

So while Sasuke had sat silently brooding at Kurenai-sensei through the entire thing, Naruto had doodled idly on his textbook. They had thoroughly ignored one another.

That worked for Naruto, as he had nothing that could even vaguely be considered polite to say to the other boy.

Naruto was astounded when he went to school on Wednesday, for many reasons. The first being, he had somehow become the center of a rather large group of friends through no effort of his own. He marveled at the faces as they ate lunch on the roof.

Friends. What an unfamiliar concept. Naruto didn't quite no what to do or how to act. He felt like a scientist who had just perfected time travel but had no one to tell about it.

He had been mildly surprised when the boy he had punched the day before – Kiba – had come up to him and apologized at the beginning of Lunch, a sheepish look on his face. Naruto had apologized for punching him and watched as Kiba sat down next to a rather quiet boy named Shino.

Their lunch group was compromised of Sakura, a loud blonde named Ino, (who spent a lot of time bickering with Sakura) Shikamaru, a chubby boy named Chouji with spiral tattoos on his puffy cheeks, Kiba and Shino.

"So how was your first day?" Sakura asked, looked up from her bento. Naruto watched absentmindedly as she sucked on the cherry tomato she was holding between her chopsticks, before meeting her eyes and giving her a large grin.

"Well, other than getting decked by that Sasuke bastard, it was pretty alright."

"That's good." Sakura practically beamed at him. Naruto had learned that while she was rather shallow, she had a very warm disposition and was easy to get along with. Ino snorted.

"You deserved that punch." She told him, looking up from the bread she was eating with a smirk on her face. She flicked her long ponytail behind her shoulder. "You stole Sasuke-kun's first kiss. If he _hadn't _punched you, one of us girls totally would have."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "What's so popular about that bastard, anyways? He seems like a complete jerk to me."

Ino scoffed. "Shows what kind taste _you_ have. Sasuke-kun is the Prince of Konoha High School, loved by all and attained by none. It's the unwritten rule."

"Ice Prince, you mean." Shikamaru chimed in lazily. He was laying on his back next to Naruto, ignoring his lunch and staring at a rather large cloud that had begun to form in front of the sun. Kiba laughed.

"Yeah, he's totally got a stick up his ass." Kiba told Naruto. "He's always angsting about the fact that he can't beat his brother, whoever that is."

"He has a brother?" Naruto asked, interested despite himself. It was like seeing the inside of a grandfather clock. He was completely bemused by all the cogs and wheels, but wanted to learn what made Sasuke tick.

"Yep." Chouji said, stuffing a few chips into his mouth and taking a swig of soda. "He used to go here, but he graduated way early and is now working for some hidden organization or something."

"You guys," Sakura interrupted in a chiding tone. "You heard what Kakashi-sensei said. We're not supposed to talk about other peoples pasts. If Naruto wants to know about Sasuke-kun, he'll have to hear about it from Sasuke-kun."

Kiba, Chouji, Ino and Shikamaru rolled their eyes. "Always the teacher's pet, aren't you Sakura?" Ino mocked, causing Sakura to scowl.

The bickering between the two was amusing. They were always at each other's throats, always insulting, but their was an underlying familiarity between them. He could tell they were truly comfortable around one another and probably cared about the other a great more than either of them was willing to say.

"Following the rules doesn't make me teacher's pet, Ino." Sakura snapped.

At this point, Naruto tuned out their yapping, scarfing down the rest of his food. He was mildly curious about Uchiha Sasuke and his genius brother, he would admit, but not enough to get to know Sasuke. As far as he was concerned, Sasuke had made his point with the punch in the face. He didn't want to be Naruto's friend.

Naruto had no interest in going out of his way to change that. He was thankful for the friends he had managed to get.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Shino said suddenly. Naruto looked up at him with wide eyes. It was the first time he'd heard the other boy talk. "May I ask, what exactly is your Kekkei Genkai?"

"Um..." Naruto didn't know how to answer that, as he really didn't know himself. Luckily, Sakura answered for him.

"He wouldn't know, Shino." She told the other boy, who averted his gaze to hers. "He didn't even know what Kekkai Genkai's were until he transferred here. But as far as I can tell, he's an A-rank detonator."

"Detonator?" Naruto asked, confused. "What's that?"

"Um...well..." Sakura's tone was hesitant. "Basically, you trigger explosions, you know? And being A-rank means you trigger really big ones. That's one of the higher ranks."

"Don't you think you should explain the rank system to him completely, Sakura?" Ino interrupted, eying Naruto with interest. "He looks confused."

"I would be confused too if no one had told me anything before throwing me into a school of freaks." Kiba laughed. "Look, Naruto, it's like this. The ranks go from D to S. D being the lowest and S being the highest rank above A. The higher your rank, the more dangerous or useful your ability."

Naruto nodded, thankful that someone had explained. Comprehension was a beautiful thing. "So what are you guys then?" He looked at all of them, curious despite himself. He didn't really know if it was a question he was supposed to ask.

"I'm a C-rank communicator." Kiba told him, a wide grin on his face. "I can talk to _everything_. Animals, plants, inanimate objects, you name it."

"I'm a B-rank dominant." Ino spoke next. Naruto could swear he saw her chest puff out with pride as she disclosed this fact. "That means that I can possess other people's minds and bodies."

Sakura snorted. "Yep, and that explains why you're so bad at getting people's hearts."

"What did you say, forehead-girl?" Ino demanded.

"You can't force a persons heart Ino." Sakura told her, nodding like she was a wise sage talking to a five year old. "A mind and body may be controlled, but the heart is something you can never bend to your will."

Ino opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by Shikamaru.

"I'm an A-rank inhibitor." He said, his eyes never leaving the sky. "I can use shadows to immobilize and force people to do what I want them too. Which is usually nothing, as it's a pain in the ass."

"I'm a C-rank morpher." Chouji said through a mouthful of chips. "I can change the size of my body."

Naruto wondered why Chouji chose to being plump instead of skinny, but decided not to ask. He didn't really care what people looked like, and it wasn't his place."

"I'm an A-rank balancer." Sakura said, grinning at him. "You already know what I can do. Heal and destroy. I'm the neutral territory between the two, basically." Naruto grinned back at her and watched the sun reflect off of her cotton-candy colored hair. He really liked Sakura, she was easy to be comfortable with. Filled with warmth – like a day in the middle of April – but not as overbearing as a scorching day in the summer.

"I," Shino said, drawing all attention to himself. Naruto watched him tug his high collar up over his mouth. "Am a B-rank practitioner. Which means nothing like what it sounds. I can control insects, and send them inside of another person's body in order to destroy their internal organs. But my ability isn't limited to people, I can send my insects into just about anything."

Everyone stared at Shino, mouths slightly agape. Naruto had a feeling this was one of the longest speeches they'd ever heard the boy give. He bit his lip in an effort not laugh as the bell rang. Everyone got to their feet and threw their trash away, before heading downstairs, talking and laughing loudly.

Naruto couldn't remember the last time he'd felt his good.

"Alright everyone, you know the drill!" Kakashi said loudly, looking around the wide gym at all of his students. Everyone was in gym shorts and t-shirts. "Divide up according to your teams!"

Naruto watched as Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji sat down next to each other. Ino was talking to Chouji about something Naruto couldn't hear, but it looked like she was scolding him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Kiba yelled from where he was standing next to Shino. "Hinata still isn't back yet!"

"I'm aware of that, Kiba." Kakashi said shortly, shifting his eyes to the loud brunette. "She won't be back for a few days yet, so you and Shino can just sit this one out or spar if you want."

Spar? Naruto was extremely puzzled by this. Wasn't violence of any kind against the rules?

Kiba moaned in an exasperated way that made Naruto think this wasn't the first lesson he'd had to sit out, but then he grinned at Naruto before turning around and nearly socking Shino, who dodged easily.

Naruto noticed from the corner of his eye, that a boy long brown hair in a group he didn't know, was glaring at Kakashi-sensei rather blatantly at the mention of Hinata. Naruto wondered who Hinata was and why the boy was so defensive about her, but didn't ask.

"Um...Kakashi-sensei?" He said, a little embarrassed. "What group am I in?"

Kakashi turned to Naruto and eyed him appraisingly. Naruto felt like he was an old antique that had just arrived at the dealers.

"You're in Team Seven." Kakashi said, gesturing to Sakura and...._Sasuke?! _Naruto's eyes bulged slightly as Sakura smiled at him and Sasuke glared at him with his arms crossed over his chest. "They've been a two man team until now, but our teams are usually made of three. You'll be the third man."

Naruto didn't miss the way Ino glowered at Sakura from across the gym. Shikamaru smirked at him in a way that said... "_Bad luck, dude._"

Kakashi motioned Sakura and Sasuke forward with a wave of his hand. They walked over. Naruto ignored the glower he was receiving from Sasuke and smiled at Sakura instead. "Now, Naruto, the point of the these lessons are to teach you how to use and control your abilities. There are various obstacles and activities we perform to help you hone them, but that'll be done tomorrow. The obstacle courses are all outside. Today, we spar."

Naruto nodded, slightly put out. He knew how to spar, as he'd taken a year or two of martial arts classes before...Naruto changed his train of thought quickly. "Okay. But it's not all three of us sparing at once, is it?"

"No," Kakashi told him. "You'll fight with Sakura first, until one of you draws blood and the one that wins will fight Sasuke. It'll continue like that until the end of the lesson."

Kakashi turned to Sakura. "Try not to blow up the gym today, okay?" Naruto watched Kakashi's eyes close in a smile as he said this and Sakura blushed before nodding. Kakashi turned to Sasuke.

"No Chidori today, Sasuke." Sasuke scowled at the gray-haired man. "Naruto is new, and we don't want him put out of commission before we see what he's got. Stick with the Sharingan."

"Tch." Was Sasuke's only acknowledgment before he looked away petulantly. Naruto fought the urge to laugh at the way the other boy was pouting.

"Alright, everyone!" Kakashi clapped his hands, getting the attention of everyone in the gym. "You may begin!"

Naruto watched as everyone got to their feet and into various sparring positions with interest, before his attention was caught by a tugging on his arm. "Come on!" Sakura said, pulling him a few feet away from Kakashi.

She stood a good five feet away from Naruto, who watched as she pulled black gloves on, wondering what they were for. Naruto had gathered that the sparing usual took place with the use of Kekkai Genkai's, but was kind of nervous since he didn't have the slightest idea how to control his.

He separated his feet and crouched down slightly, working with what he could remember from his martial arts classes. Sakura gave him a small smile, and Naruto didn't like the looks of it.

It was a smile that clearly said, _"This is going to hurt, sorry."_

He watched her charge at him and barely managed to avoid the fist she had aimed at his skull by turning to the left. He watched her turn gracefully, bring her knee up to slam into his gut, but he ducked down before it got there, kicking her in the back of the knee. She fell forward for a moment, and then she was just..._gone_.

"Above you, _dobe_." Naruto's eyes widened at the sound of Sasuke's voice, but he looked up nonetheless. Sakura was descending on him rapidly, and before Naruto could even wonder how she managed to jump so high, he lurched sideways, barely avoiding the hit.

Which blew up their side side of the gym.

Naruto coughed through the large amount of dust that had risen in the air, as he watched the floor of gym rise like a current, crumbling into various pieces. When the wave reached him, he fell over, still hacking.

Yeah, he never, _ever_, wanted to piss off Sakura.

Kakashi turned to Sakura and gave her a reproachful look and she grinned back at him sheepishly.

Naruto managed to pull himself to his feet, his eyes watering from all of the rubble he had inhaled. The back of his throat was still itching, he fought the urge to cough as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

He looked up in time to see a gloved fist coming directly toward his face before everything went black.

He woke up a good two minutes later, blinking at the fluorescent lights that flickered on the high ceiling. He sat up slowly, his head pounding, and looked around. Sasuke was standing three feet away, next to Kakashi, smirking at him. Naruto scowled, which hurt his face.

"Naruto?" Naruto looked to his right. Sakura was kneeling beside him, an apologetic look on her face.

"You sucker punched me." He accused, eyes narrowing. She lowered her eyes at this, before sighing.

"I'm sorry." And she really sounded it. "When I start sparring I just kind of forget everything else but the fight and you were wide open and I-"

Naruto held up a hand and smiled at her, hurting his face even more. "It's all good, Sakura. I'll just have to be more alert next time."

Sakura sighed with what seemed like relief. "Come here." She ordered, motioning of him to lean forward, before putting her hand over his nose. Naruto could feel the dried blood that was crusted there. He was pretty sure it was broken.

A green glow invaded his peripheral vision as Sakura healed him. He felt the disjointed cartridge sliding back into place and fought the urge to grimace. It wasn't exactly an unpleasant feeling, but it didn't feel good either. It was more uncomfortable.

Before he knew it, Sakura was on her feet. She smiled at him. "All done!" She declared, before pointing at him. "_You're _not half bad, by the way. The only reason I got you was because I had the element of surprise on my side. If I didn't, we could have gone on like that for hours."

Naruto gave her a goofy grin – relieved when it didn't hurt his face – and blushed at the compliment.

He watched Sasuke walk toward Sakura, his face expressionless. He stopped beside her. "Let's go." He said, and she just nodded and followed him to the pile of rubble that had been the left side of gym.

They started fighting and Naruto's jaw dropped in astonishment.

Sasuke was _amazing_.

Naruto watched as Sasuke moved with lithe grace, avoiding every hit Sakura tried to land as if it were and intricate and erotic dance, rather than a sparring session. A few times, he even met her fist head on with his hand before he'd push her to the side and land a spin kick or particularly well aimed punch.

"He's good, isn't he?" Kakashi said, sitting down next to Naruto. Naruto just nodded, not taking his eyes off of Sasuke. Kakashi grinned. "He thinks you're good too, you know." Kakashi told him airily.

Naruto looked over at him disbelievingly. "There's no reason why he would. He doesn't like me and I don't have any outstanding skills."

"No, you don't." Kakashi agreed. Naruto laughed at the honesty. "But you _could_. Sasuke sees your potential. The only offensive fighter who has been able to one up Sakura is Sasuke. No one else has ever come close in all the time they've sparred together." Kakashi looked at him appraisingly again. "But _you _did. Sasuke may never admit it, but he knows your talented"

Naruto almost snorted. Not sure whether to be pleased or skeptical. "And how do you know what he thinks?"

Kakashi gave him one of those closed-eye smiles. "Because I'm his guardian."

"Oh." Naruto said flatly, shocked by that information. "Well, I'm no where near as good as he is and I'm guessing it'll be a long time before I'm on even footing with him, if ever."

"Nah," Kakashi said, still smiling as he looked around the gym. "You just need practice. You don't even know how to use your ability on command, do you?"

Naruto just shook his head. Kakashi nodded, as if he expected as much. "Well, we'll change all that in a few weeks."

Naruto turned his eyes away from Sasuke and let them sweep the gym. It looked like Shikamaru had trapped Chouji, but judging from the way he was acting – hands on his hips and a flashy smirk on his face – Naruto was willing to bet that Ino had gotten Shikamaru. His theory was confirmed when he spotted her unconscious body laying on the ground.

He eyed the group the long haired brunette was in with interest. The brunette easily dodged a kick aimed at him by a boy in a green unitard with a bowl haircut. Naruto watched the brunette pin the overly-enthusiastic boy and then as they swapped, a girl with twin buns on her head taking his place.

Something caught his eye and he turned his head in time to see a girl walk into the gym. She was petite, with blue-black shoulder length hair and light eyes. Naruto was surprised when he saw the brunette leave his fight and go rushing over to the girl. They talked and she hung her head, as the boy seemed to flail in exasperation.

"Hinata!" Kiba's loud voice boomed, as he practically skipped over to her, throwing an arm around her frail looking shoulders. The brunette scowled in annoyance before marching back to his team. "You're back early!"

Kiba steered the girl toward Naruto and Kakashi with a grin on his face. "Naruto! This is Hinata! She's my team mate!"

"Hi." Naruto said brightly, examining the girl more closely now that she was nearer. Her eyes were a very light shade of indigo – almost translucent – but stunning. Her hair was straight as a board and very fine looking. She had a bright red blush on her cheeks. "I'm Naruto."

"H-hello, Naruto-kun." She said quietly, not raising her eyes to look at him. He smiled at her. She seemed like a bashful girl, but not at all unpleasant.

The grin on Kiba's face faltered a bit, which did not escape Naruto's notice. Sakura came bounding up to them, her left shoulder cut and leaking a steady stream of blood. "Hinata!" She exclaimed excitedly. "You're finally back! You've been gone for _ages_. Have you met Naruto?"

Hinata glanced at Sakura before staring at her shoes again. Naruto watched her take a deep breath and then look up at Sakura, a small smile on her face, and nod. Sakura's returning smile was almost blinding.

"Hinata." Kakashi addressed the girl. "Have you been to see Tsunade yet?"

Hinata nodded, her gaze dropping to her shoes again. "She told me to go see Kurenai-sensei after the lesson today." Her voice was so quiet that Naruto had to strain to hear it.

Suddenly – as if they were a flock of vultures – the other students descended on the girl. Ino gave her a long hug, Shino nodded at her, Shikamaru sighed and gave a lazy wave. The girl didn't seem to know what to do amidst all the attention.

Naruto smiled again. Apparently this girl was very loved at Konoha High School, and he could see why. She was polite and sweet. She seemed to carry a good heart by nature.

Naruto suddenly whipped his head around, eyes widening. Sasuke was standing ten feet away, staring at him, with his mouth slightly open. When he noticed Naruto staring back at him, his eyes widened and he turned on his heel and walked out of the gym.

Naruto could have sworn he saw a slight blush on the raven's cheeks.


	4. The Way Things Are

**A/N - Two updates in one day?! Yeap! I was on a roll! But, it may take a week or so for me to update again. I have to do some actual plotting now, and that is very troublesome. Bleh. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated!**

**Disclaimer - All of the Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto. Who is male. And lives in Japan. I am a female, living in America. Obviously, I don't own them.**...**at least not until the details of the sex change operation and kidnapping pan out! XD**

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Sasuke had never given much thought to things like love, friendship, or even relationships in general. The only lasting bond he had was with Kakashi, and that was against his will. All of his voluntary bonds had been slaughtered before his very eyes.

He figured that was enough to make a person stop trusting, so he'd never tried to justify his coldness to anyone. He didn't like people, he didn't trust them, he didn't need them. End of story.

So why was he laying here trying to justify his lack of bonds to himself?

Sasuke glowered at his ceiling. His room was dark, as it had been since he'd gotten home from school. Kakashi hadn't come to talk to him for skipping out yet, but Sasuke had no doubt he would make an appearance sooner or later. Sasuke was also fully aware that he had missed detention, and would probably be in even more trouble the next day.

Sasuke's room was plain, and he liked it that way. White walls, two windows with white blinds, single bed with a light blue comforter. There wasn't a trace of originality to be seen, and usually he enjoyed that fact.

It was bothering him today.

A million things were bothering him today.

Like how he had dropped his guard without even realizing it. How he had blatantly let his emotions be put on display, like some prized object in the window of a shop. That had never happened to him before.

He wasn't even sure why it _had _happened. He just suddenly found himself staring at the blonde as if hypnotized, completely transfixed by the way everyone seemed to gravitate toward him. It had almost looked like Naruto was a sun, and without him all his classmates had nothing else to orbit around. He had never seen them all together like that before, like they were all the same. Usually everyone stuck with their one or two friends, and didn't pay much mind to anyone else.

And as Sasuke had watched, he had felt himself gravitating toward Naruto as well. Wanting to be caught up in that brilliant light his smile seemed to shine on everyone, to be a part of...._things. _

It was the first time that had ever happened to him, and he didn't understand it at all. He had never once wanted to form a bond with another person. He had one goal, and that goal was all that mattered. People were just stepping stones to get there.

It was almost like Naruto was magnetic.

Like the blonde pulled on something inside of Sasuke, urging him to become connected with everything he resented.

Maybe that was why. Naruto was everything Sasuke resented. He seemed so gullible and trusting, so warm and open, carefree and naive.

Things people should never be.

People should _never _wear their hearts on their sleeves. All that ever lead too was a mountain of disappointment and pain so crushing that it knocked the life out of you. Sasuke had learned that first hand.

But yet, as he had watched the blonde interacting with all of the people he, himself had pushed away, he had thought for a moment maybe...just _maybe..._it wouldn't be so bad to be a part of that. To be swallowed up by something so warm and deep he couldn't decipher where he started and the next person began.

He had thought back to his first encounter with Naruto. About how he had reacted to that atrocious accident. What if he hadn't done that? Hadn't acted on instinct? Had acted like it was no big deal?

Would he be friends with Naruto now? Would he be the one closest to the sun?

He could still feel Naruto's lips on his, from those brief seconds in the classroom. They had been warm and soft and tangible.

It was so different from the cold steel Sasuke was used to that he couldn't help but be captivated by it.

The glower had been replaced by a slight smirk as Sasuke stared at his ceiling, lost in thought. When he realized this, he immediately righted it, letting his neutral expression slide over his face.

He couldn't allow this to happen.

He couldn't allow himself to consider being close to another person, no matter who that person was. It would crush all of the progress he had made into dust. It would give him a weakness, something to be used against him.

That made Sasuke's heart clench, a very little bit. He quickly brushed the feeling off before he got hit with the full force of loneliness.

He knew loneliness, knew how to ignore it and pretend it didn't matter. He hadn't quite figured out how to conquer it yet, though.

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

He had one thing in life – just one – his revenge. It was all that mattered to him, all he strove toward, all that got him up in the mornings. It was the only thing that let him open his eyes and think '_It's okay for me to be here. I have a purpose'. _So who was this blonde to come in and unwittingly threaten the one thing that verified Sasuke's existence?

_He's no one. _Sasuke told himself sternly. _No one._

Sasuke's mind flashed to when Naruto had turned to look at him, the shocked expression on his face. Honestly, his face showed all of his emotions so perfectly that Sasuke could almost read his mind. Sasuke remembered the way Naruto's lips had parted, and the slightly dazed look in his big blue eyes.

He really hoped Naruto hadn't seen him blush. Because at that moment, Sasuke had been contemplating the feeling of physical contact with another person. Lips on lips, skin on skin, closeness. Things he lacked and didn't know how to respond too.

And when Naruto had turned to look at Sasuke, Sasuke had felt like a voyeur who had just been caught in the act.

Sasuke sighed and clenched his eyes closed, attempting to crush the unfamiliar emotions that were floating around inside him. All new, all unexpected, all weaknesses.

He didn't need them.

Sasuke sat up and stared down at his right hand, concentrating all of his energy to the center of his palm. He watched a spark danced across it, seemingly from no where. And then another, and another...

Until his palm burst into flames.

He smirked. Kakashi had said he was luck to have _two _Kekkei Genkai? Well, apparently Sasuke had won the lottery, because excluding his Sharingan, he had four.

_Four_ abilities. The manipulation of fire, water, lightning and earth.

He was pretty sure he'd just stepped up to A-rank elemental. His smirk grew wider, before a slightly maniacal smile overtook his face.

Four abilities.

Four ways to defeat Itachi.

Four steps closer to his goal.

Nothing would hold Sasuke back, not even a blonde who seemed to have enough gravitational pull to attract several galaxies.

* * *

Naruto walked out of the locker room and headed for the gym. He was the last one to finish changing again today. He proffered not to let anyone see anymore of his body than they had to.

There were too many scars.

The class was going to head outside from the gym today, to complete some kind of obstacle course. Naruto's stomach did a small flip in excitement.

He really like Wednesday and Thursday classes. Actually, he really like school in general, which was a first for him.

He smiled to himself.

The fact that he'd been so easily accepted was something he hadn't been expecting. Naruto had figured that when he got here, everyone would treat him like a leper and avoid him as much as possible. For him, it was like Christmas had come early.

Naruto was pulled out of his thoughts by a hacking noise. He looked around to locate it, wondering who it was that was coughing. And then he spotted her.

In between the two vending machines a few feet away from him, sat Hinata, curled up in a bawl with a hand over her mouth and tears running down her face.

Naruto had never cleared a few feet so fast in his life.

"Are you okay?" He demanded, crouching down in front of Hinata. She lifted her head, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. It was covered in blood.

"Oh my God." Naruto's mind seemed to implode on itself as he looked at the blood on her mouth and saw a large amount also covered the palm of her hand. "Oh my God, Hinata, are you okay?" He grabbed her shoulders, at a loss for what to do.

"Get out of the way." A cold voice said from behind him. Naruto jumped and glanced around. The brunette with the long hair was glaring down at him, a murderous expression on his face.

"Get a teacher!" Naruto told him. "She needs help."

"Get out of the way." The boy repeated. "_Now._" There was so much venom in his tone that Naruto immediately complied, scooting over a few inches.

The boy crouched down in front of Hinata and held out his arms. Her eyes had grown so wide at this point that it was impossible not to see the tears in them. Naruto watched a few of them spill down her face.

"N-Neji-nii-san!" She said, throwing herself into the other boys arms. Naruto watched as the boy – Neji – wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up as if she were weightless. Hinata's head was buried in his shoulder.

"Go tell Kakashi-sensei that I had to take Hinata to the infirmary." Neji told Naruto, before turning and walking down the hall. Naruto jumped to his feet and ran to the gym.

He slammed through the doors with so much force that he was sure his wrists would be bruised later. He looked around wildly, ignoring the looks he was getting from his classmates and located Kakashi-sensei. He immediately went up to him.

"Something is wrong with Hinata." Naruto told him in a panicked tone. "Neji took her to the infirmary. It looked really serious."

Kakashi looked at him for a few seconds before nodding slightly. "Thank you for telling me, Naruto." He said, before turning back to the class as if nothing had happened.

Naruto stared in astonishment. "What? That's it?!" He nearly yelled at Kakashi-sensei. "A student is coughing up blood and you're just going to keep teaching?! Who _does _that?!"

"Naruto." Sakura was suddenly beside him. He blinked at her for a few moments before turning back to Kakashi-sensei to continue his rant. Sakura stopped him by pulling on his arm. "Naruto, it's okay." She told him.

Naruto was pretty sure his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Hinata is coughing up blood and it's _okay_?!"

Sakura sighed and gave him a small smile, but her eyes were cold. "Hinata is ill, Naruto. She has a weak immune system and can't handle a lot of strain. This isn't the first time something like this has happened."

"It's not?" He asked dumbly, not quite processing the information. Sakura nodded at him.

"No, it's happened quite a few times. Usually after she returns from missions." Sakura said sadly, not looking at him.

"Missions?" Naruto asked, confused. "What missions?"

Kiba walked up beside Naruto, who noticed that everyone else had diverted their attention and gone back to talking to one another. Their was almost a tangible strain in the air that hadn't been there a few seconds ago.

"Hinata is often sent out of missions." Kiba told him, his voice low. "She's an S-rank, so her abilities take a huge toll on her body. Too much power, too small of a container or something like that. And they _know _that but they just keep sending her out."

Naruto fully approved of the enraged tone in Kiba's voice.

"Wait, why does the government send her on missions anyways? What kind of missions? That doesn't make any sense!"

"This is a government run program, _dobe_." Naruto's back stiffened at the sound of Sasuke's voice. He glanced behind him to see Sasuke standing there with his arms crossed and a bored look on his face. "And because we're sponsored by the government, we have to comply with whatever orders they give us. If they have something they need us to do, we do it. No questions asked."

It was longest speech Naruto had ever heard Sasuke give. "Wait," Naruto said, comprehension dawning on him. "So we're basically being raised to be dogs for the government?"

No one said anything, but the looks on their faces were answer enough. "That's not just not right." Naruto said in disbelief, rage bubbling inside of him as he remembered how weak Hinata had looked in the hallway. The look of fear on her face would be burned into his memory forever.

"I'm going to visit Hinata." Kiba said suddenly, walking away from them and disappearing through the doors. Naruto tried taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, but it didn't really help much.

"Naruto," Sakura looked at him with a pitying expression on her face. "It isn't right, I agree. But it's the way things work around here. No one can do anything about it. Even the teachers don't like it, but it's not in their power to stop it."

"Well _someone _should do _something_!" Naruto practically yelled, he got a whack on the back of the head from Sasuke.

"Keep your voice down, idiot." Sasuke was looking Naruto square in the eye, an odd expression on his face. "It's not something that we talk about around here. A taboo subject. So just shut up, okay?"

Naruto stared at Sasuke incredulously. "So you're just going to lay down and take it?!" He demanded, stepping up to Sasuke and glaring at him. Sasuke flinched a little as he got closer, then glared right back.

"There's nothing else we _can _do, you idiot." Sasuke bit out, teeth clenched. "If we go against them, we get slammed back into the institutions. And _no one _wants that. Not you, not me, not _anyone_."

"Institutions?" Naruto furrowed his brow in confusion. This was all too much at once, there was too much he didn't know.

Sakura put in arm in between them and forced each of them to take a few steps away from each other before turning to Naruto. "Like the place you were before you got here, That's an institution."

Naruto's eyes widened, and his mouth opened and closed a few times before he just snapped it shut. In a place like that? That's where they would be sent if they broke the rules?

Naruto shuddered.

He never wanted to go back there again.

"Anyways," Sakura continued. "It's not like no one is doing anything to stop this, but these things take _time_." She stressed the last word, as if it had some underlaying importance. "Things will change sooner or later. We just have to be patient, okay?"

Naruto took a deep breath and nodded. He shot another glare at Sasuke, who was smirking at him.

"Come on, let's go outside." Sakura said, grabbing each of them by the hand and dragging them toward the door on the other side of the gym. Sasuke shot a glare at her, but Naruto just let her pull him along as he went over what he had just learned in his head.

Kakashi pushed himself away from the wall where he had watched the entire exchanged and followed them, smiling in silent approval.

* * *

Temari took a deep breath as she took a few steps forward and lifted her hand in the air. A taxi pulled over almost immediately and she climbed inside.

"Take me to the airport." She instructed, clenching her hands together in her lap and closing her eyes. Her heartbeat still hadn't returned to normal. It was racing, pounding against her ribcage so hard that she was sure it would burst through her chest any second.

_Stay calm. _She instructed herself. _Just stay calm. All you have to do is get on a plain and go to Japan. _

She opened her eyes after a few seconds with renewed determination. She set her shoulders and sat up straighter. She could do this.

All she had to do was get to Naruto.

Then everything would be okay, she told herself. All she had to do was get to Japan.

Temari's eyes widened as lights shone through the window to her right. A car, completely ignoring the red light, was racing toward them. Temari barely had time to glimpse the bright red hair of the driver before the impact sent the taxi flying. Temari's eyes widened in a brief moment of terror when she realized the car was going to flip before her head connected with ceiling.

Everything went dark.

* * *

**A/N - Dun Dun Dun! CLIFFHANGER!!!**


	5. Comfortable and Uncomfortable

**A/N - This chapter isn't exactly well written, especially not the beginning. I was baby sitting my ten month old cousin while writing, lol. But it's finished so YAY! It's a bit longer than the others, as well. Hope you guys enjoy!**

**This fanfic is unbeta'd so please ignore the typos! And to clear up any confusion about this, Temari's timeline is slightly behind Naruto's.  
**

**Disclaimer - All Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto-sensei...Except Gaara...after many long law suits, I finally managed to get him to give me Gaara....At least, that's what the men with the big butterfly nets told me.  
**

* * *

Naruto tapped his eraser on his textbook rhythmically as he stared at the back of Sasuke's head. The raven hadn't moved once in the past forty-five minutes. Hadn't even shifted positions. He'd sat there as still as a statue, staring our the window for what was starting to feel like an eternity to Naruto.

Naruto bit his lip and flipped his pencil around, debating whether or not to actually do the homework in front of him. It seemed impossible at the moment, his mind was racing in too many directions to focus.

He had a bad feeling that was bubbling in his chest, seething and expanding, threatening to take over his entire body. Something wasn't right, something was off. He just didn't know what it was.

Was it the school?

There was certainly something off within Konoha High. Naruto didn't know what to think about it. The fact that students were used like soldiers for the whims of the government infuriated him. Not only because he was now one of those students and would probably be used, but because there was something so morally wrong with it.

The students in the school had probably come with hope, looking for some semblance of normalcy amongst their altered lives. Naruto had. He hadn't admitted to himself, but somewhere in the back of his mind he had been hoping for acceptance. Belonging. Not to be judged on his past or his strange abilities.

And this is what he and everyone else got.

A place where they could learn to control things beyond their control. A place where bonds could be forged and life lessons could be learned.

A place where they were all used.

Naruto remembered the look on Hinata's face for the umpteenth time that day. The wide eyes and trembling lips. Then the look on Neji's face as he had lifted her up and taken her away.

Quiet outrage.

He started tapping his eraser again, biting his lip harder than ever. Was what Sakura said true? Things are the way they are, and nothing could be done about it.

Naruto didn't want to believe that.

And were there really people attempting to do something about it? To change things? Sakura had made it sound like there were, but Naruto didn't know enough to truly understand the situation. He was beginning to feel weighed down by his ignorance.

He didn't understand the calm attitudes of his fellow students. The quiet acceptance by the teachers. He knew the threat of those who acted beyond their place was great, but that didn't stop him from wanting to act anyways.

He'd survived the institution the first time, after all.

"Would you stop that?" Sasuke snapped, turning his head to glare at Naruto's pencil. Naruto's mouth fell open slightly at the sound of Sasuke's voice. He had figured Sasuke was off in another world, lost in his thoughts.

"Yeah," Naruto looked at him as apologetically as he could manage, being rather annoyed by Sasuke. "Sorry."

Sasuke turned around and resumed staring out the window. Naruto bit his lip again. He knew talking to Sasuke was a bad idea. Nothing good could come of it, as they'd obviously gotten off on the wrong foot, and Naruto had a feeling there wouldn't be any 'do overs' to rectify the problem.

But his thoughts were driving him crazy and he needed a distraction.

"Sasuke," He hesitated slightly. It felt strange to say Sasuke's name. "What exactly is it that Hinata can do? Kiba said she was S-rank."

Naruto counted the seconds that ticked by until a full minute had passed, and he gave up on an answer. He was surprised when Sasuke turned to him with guarded eyes.

"Hinata is an S-rank harmonizer." Sasuke's voice was toneless. "Her Kekkei Genkai has to do with sound waves. Depending on the pitch of scream she uses, she can knock down buildings."

"Seriously?" Naruto asked, amazed. "But she's so quiet." He couldn't help the slight smile that pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Why is that Neji guy so protective of her?"

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "He's her cousin." He said shortly. Naruto nodded. He had figured they were somehow related, they looked very similar. He was astounded that Sasuke was actually answering his questions.

"Sasuke?"

"What?" He sounded irritated, it made Naruto smirk. There was something fun about pushing Sasuke's buttons, as there seemed to be so many. Just talking annoyed the guy.

"What do you think of the way they do things? Sending us out on missions and stuff." Naruto watched as Sasuke seemed to think about it. His face didn't change at all, but Naruto could see a slight flicker in his eye every now and then.

Emotions, maybe?

And here he'd been thinking Sasuke was actually an undercover AI unit. The kind that follows all the rules but then goes all crazy and tries to destroy humanity.

On second thought, that could actually happen. Naruto grimaced.

"I think we have abilities, so it make sense to use them." Sasuke deadpanned, before turning around and staring out the window again.

Naruto let the subject drop, musing at the fact that they had had a somewhat civil conversation. He hadn't really expected anything like that to happen, so he felt slightly giddy. But it wasn't like he and Sasuke were on there way to being friends or anything, so he crushed the feeling immediately.

Naruto glanced down at his homework, and then around the room. He and Sasuke were the only ones there. Kurenai-sensei had left about twenty minutes earlier. Naruto doubted she would be back any time soon, as she had been called away by the teacher who had caught Naruto punching Kiba on his first day, Asuma-sensei.

Naruto jumped to his feet and picked up his bag, stuffing his textbook inside. There was no reason to hang around if the teacher wasn't there. He could go and do what he wanted for a while, and then come back just before their time was up.

With a smile, he headed to the door.

"Where do you think you're going, idiot?" Sasuke's voice was no longer civil, or even toneless. It was a cross between amusement and annoyance.

"Um...outside, obviously." Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at the smug look on Sasuke's face. "Why?"

"No reason." Sasuke said. Naruto stared at him for a few more seconds before opening the door and attempting to go out.

His head slammed against something hard, propelling him back a few feet. Naruto's eyes widened. There was nothing there, just an open doorway.

"Idiot." Sasuke said again. Naruto rounded on him. Sasuke wasn't laughing, he didn't seem the type to ever laugh, but his smirk was so wide on his face that Naruto had no doubt he was at least snickering on the inside.

"What's so funny, _teme_?" Naruto didn't like being laughed at. Ever. Sasuke's expression sobered immediately.

"Kurenai-sensei is an entrapment specialist." Sasuke explained, tone smug. "She's put a barrier on this room. There's no getting in or out for anyone who isn't her."

"Asuma-sensei came in." Naruto pointed out.

"She _let _him in, you idiot."

"What the hell is your problem?" Naruto nearly yelled. He didn't understand how they had gone to being almost nice to each other to this. He didn't take kindly to being insulted and retaliated on instinct. But Sasuke had no reason to be so damn insulting in the first place.

"Right now, my problem is you." Naruto gaped at Sasuke. He had the oddest expression on his look as he said that. Almost pained. Naruto didn't understand it, but it made him curious. Not curious enough to ask, though.

Deciding to be the bigger man, Naruto just glared at Sasuke as he resumed his seat. He pulled his textbook out and flipped it back to the chapter he was on. Eventually, he began tapping his eraser again and started glaring at the back of Sasuke's head.

Sasuke didn't move an inch the rest of the time. Naruto was pretty sure he'd even stopped breathing.

* * *

Sasuke slammed the door behind him and stomped up the stairs. All he wanted to do was get into his room and ignore the world.

Throwing his bag on his desk, he flung himself into bed. It sucked that 'the world' included himself.

And he was what was on his nerves at the moment.

He grit his teeth and clenched his fists as he stared at the ceiling.

He had found himself becoming victim to the large sun that was Naruto. He had sworn to himself not to get pulled in by the blonde. So what was he doing even speaking to him? Why had he answered Naruto's questions?

Why had he felt the need to pull Naruto closer, rather than push him away?

Sasuke slammed his fist against his mattress.

Maybe he was just lonely. He had been alone so long now that he was almost used to it, but it still got to him sometimes. The weight of loneliness was crushing, like he was pinned beneath a car. It made him feel like he could barely breathe.

And it was like Naruto was the only person strong enough to lift the car off of him. To give him room to climb out from underneath it.

But he didn't _want _to climb out. He didn't want to change the way his life worked. His focus and goals were what made him who he was. Uchiha Sasuke, an avenger.

He sighed and closed his eyes, forcing a mental image of Itachi into his mind. Itachi, covered in blood with that horrible smirk on his face. Itachi laughing and telling him to hate as he walked past the corpses of their parents.

Sasuke lurched into sitting position, determination exploding in his chest and surging through his limbs like wildfire. He didn't have time to sit here and think a bout trivial things. He didn't have time to care about things beyond his goal.

He jumped out of bed and headed for the door. He was going to go into the back yard and train. Train until he could no longer move, he was so exhausted.

But before Sasuke could even put his hand on the door knob, it turned and his door opened. Kakashi was standing there, staring at Sasuke quizzically. Sasuke glowered. There went his plan.

"Sasuke." Kakashi greeted, pushing past Sasuke inside of the room. Sasuke almost growled as he slammed the door closed and turned to see Kakashi sitting at his desk, looking perfectly at home in Sasuke's barren room.

"What?" Sasuke didn't even attempt to sound civil.

"You were going to go train, weren't you?" Kakashi sounded disinterested, but Sasuke knew that wasn't the case. It was just Kakashi's natural tone of voice. Sasuke glared at Kakashi but didn't respond. He knew he wouldn't be able to lie about something so obvious.

Kakashi sighed and leaned back in Sasuke's computer chair. A contemplative expression crossed his face, and Sasuke stood staring at him for a few moments before Kakashi finally voiced his thought's.

"What do you think of Naruto?" He asked, both eyes trained on Sasuke, who almost flinched, but managed to stop himself just in time. Of course Kakashi had come to talk about the one thing Sasuke wanted to forget. "Do you think you could get along with him?" Kakashi continued.

Sasuke grunted in response. In truth, he thought maybe he could get along with Naruto. Except that he didn't _want _to get along with Naruto. He didn't want to go anywhere near the bubbly blonde. And he was going to use his naturally abrasive attitude to make sure he never did.

Kakashi's eyes hadn't once left Sasuke's face as Sasuke thought about it. Sasuke watched idly as Kakashi reached his hands around to the back of his neck and retied the knot on the scarf that hid the lower half of his face. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His guardians attempts at being mysterious came out more eccentric than anything.

"Sasuke," Kakashi's tone was serious now. "I don't think I need to tell you about Naruto's past. Everyone knows about it. You of all people should know what living through such an incident does to a person. I think you and he may have a chance to actually bond."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi with all of the fury he could manage. He didn't want Kakashi sitting in his room, in his chair, with that cocky expression, throwing Sasuke's own thoughts in his face.

"That's one of the reasons I made him a part of Team 7. That and there were no other options." Kakashi waved his hand airily, as if to dismiss that reason. "I think you could understand him, and likewise, he could understand you. If you got past your natural inclination of biting the ankles of everyone who comes near you, Team 7 could easily be the best team at the academy."

Sasuke snorted. Kakashi seemed to get the meaning. "Once Naruto gets a hold on his abilities, he _will _be strong, Sasuke. You know it as well as I do."

"Hn." Was Sasuke's response to the assumption. Kakashi's eyes closed in a smile before he spoke again. "You need to get used to the idea of Naruto, Sasuke. Because he isn't going anywhere. He isn't going to magically disappear. He's in your life now and there is nothing any of us can do about it."

"Are you finished?" Sasuke deadpanned. Kakashi nodded and gave him a long look before getting up and walking out of the room. Sasuke huffed and took Kakashi's place in his computer chair, pulling his backpack toward him. May as well get his homework out of the way now, since training wasn't going to happen.

A small twinge of guilt flickered in Sasuke's stomach when he thought about the fact that he hadn't told Kakashi about his newfound abilities, but he quickly brushed it off. His abilities were no one's business but his own and no one was going to stop him from using them how he saw fit.

Sasuke smirked as he flipped open his Calculus textbook.

No one.

* * *

Temari groaned. Something wasn't right. No, something was very, very wrong. There was a sharp pain in her leg and her skull felt like it had been cracked in half. She could smell smoke and hear people shouting.

She opened her eyes blearily and had time to glance down at her leg before something impeded her vision. A large piece of glass – the windshield from the taxi – was sticking out of her thigh. Temari could feel the warm stickiness of blood as it leaked from the wound.

Then there was a face in her way. She recognized it, but had no idea who it was. It was the hair – the red hair – that she remembered.

This was the person who had rammed into the taxi. Temari had suspected it was intentional, and judging by the cold eyes staring down at her, she hadn't been mistaken. Temari stared into the eyes of the man for a few seconds before she felt a prick on her arm. She looked over to see that the man was shooting something into her with a syringe.

Everything got hazy again and Temari closed her eyes.

When she next woke up, she was extremely confused. Fluorescent bulbs flickered above her head lazily and she squinted her eyes against the harshness of artificial light. Her eyes darted around the room as she became more alert. Last she remembered, the taxi had been wrecked and there had been a man with a needle. As she looked around, she realized she was alone in the room and gave a sigh of relief.

And then panic surged inside of her when she realized she had absolutely no idea where she was.

She lifted her head to give her body a once over. She was no longer wearing the black tank top and jeans she had remembered starting out in. She was in a hospital gown. She frowned – not liking that very much at all – and tried to sit up.

And then she realized she was restrained.

Of course, she thought to herself. Because whoever it was that had kidnapped her would just let her wander free in this situation. She bit her lip and tried not to roll her eyes at herself. She gave a soft tug on the restraint in frustration. It was the kind that hospitals used to subdue mentally unstable patients.

Temari's eyes widened as she realized that maybe that was where she was. The bed she was laying on was like one of those uncomfortable ones doctor's made you sit on when you went to the clinic. She was in a hospital gown, and it seemed the wound on her leg had been bandaged, though it was still sending out dull and aching throbs. The room was white and smelled sterile. She examined it more closely.

White cabinets and counters lined the walls. There was various medical equipment on top of the counters. Boxes of gloves and bottles of iodine and other things she didn't recognize except from the many, many times she'd been in a doctor's office.

Next to her was a tray of medical instruments. The kind surgeons would use just before cutting someone open. She shuddered. The fact that it was so close to her sent out warning signals in her brain.

She tried to think, tried to remember the face of her captor. But her head and hurt and the strain made her want to close her eyes. The kidnapper had seemed young, only a few years older than herself, but his eyes had been dark and cold. Remembering sent another shudder across her spine.

She didn't know _who _the kidnapper was, but she had a vague idea of _why _she had been kidnapped. And if her suspicions were correct, this was the worst possible situation she could be in.

The door on the far right side of the room open and Temari snapped her half-lidded eyes open, instantly alert. A man with bright orange hair walked through the door, closely followed by a boy with long blonde hair who looked about her age.

"Oh look, she's awake!" The blonde exclaimed, a smile on his face. Temari did not like that look of that smile _at all_. "About time, too. You've been asleep for two days. Sasori must have upped the dosage."

"Deidara." The man with orange hair said, voice cold and impassive. "Shut up." The blonde, who Temari assumed was Deidara, clamped his mouth shut immediately. There was still a hint of that grin on his face though.

"Subaku Temari." The orange haired man addressed her and she immediately stiffened. She bit her lip against the rising panic that was threatening to pull her away from sanity. She did not like being afraid. "I presume you would like to know what is going on."

She nodded, looking into the eyes of the orange haired man. They were the strangest she had ever seen, even for a Kekkei Genkai. They look like someone had dropped a pebble in the pupil sending ripples out across the iris, and they were completely dead, betraying no emotion.

"I am Pein," The man told her. "Leader of the Akatsuki." Temari's eyes widened visibly and then immediately went to the mans wrist, then to Deidara's. They were both wearing a band of black cloth there, with a large red cloud stitched into it. Temari's heart rate sped up as she realized just how serious the situation was. Out of all the times she had encountered the Akatsuki, she had never once met nor heard talk of their leader.

"I apologize for the methods we used to bring you here." Funny, he didn't sound sorry at all. "But they were necessary, as you were going to interfere with our plan of action. That could not be tolerated."

Deidara smiled mischievously at Temari over Pein's shoulder, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Temari deadpanned, looking at Pein again.

"I highly doubt that." Pein said dismissively. "You were on your way to Japan, presumably to contact Uzumaki Naruto for the sake of your brother. That would be interfering."

Temari's eyes widened and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. "You have my brother."

Pein simply nodded.

"You bastard!" She screamed, lurching forward as if to attack him, only to be slammed back into the bed by the restraints. "You fucking bastard! What have you done to him?! What have you done to Gaara?!"

"Nothing that he can't handle, I assure you." Pein told her, unphased by her attempt at rebellion.

"At least physically." Deidara cut in, laughing. "Mentally, I'm quite sure he'll never be the same."

"You son of a bitch!" Temari screamed. She knew she should be calm in a situation like this, that fighting would get her no where – except injured or possibly dead – but she couldn't seem to help herself. "I'll kill you! I will kill you and rip you apart and then give your remains to a wild fucking dog!"

"Deidara" Pein's voice was heavy with the weight of an unsaid command.

"Yes, sir." Deidara said, coming forward. Temari watched as he raised his hand, a syringe in glinting in the harsh light.

"Don't-" Temari managed as Deidara stuck the needle in her arm. And for the third time, everything went dark.

* * *

The days seemed to fly by for Naruto as he grew used to Konoha High. And he was glad to say that all of them were filled with laughter and the general joys of being a teenager. Before he knew it, he'd been at Konoha High for a month and was completely comfortable.

Wednesday and Thursday classes had proved to be exceedingly interesting. He worked with Kakashi relentlessly as the elder man told him how to focus his abilities and harness the energy required to activate his Kekkei Genkai. Naruto could now cause very small explosions on command. He was extremely pleased with his progress.

Sasuke was as cold as ever, but Naruto mostly ignored him. He and Sasuke hadn't had the chance to spar yet, and for that, Naruto was grateful. He was sure he would come off worse in the fight and he didn't want to experience the humiliation that entailed.

Sakura was almost always by his side, going with him everywhere. Hinata had joined their group for lunches, though she didn't contribute much in the way of conversation. Her general presence was relaxing though. Naruto still found her Kekkei Genkai hard to believe. She was just too quiet to be a screamer.

"Hey, Naruto." Sakura called him back from his thoughts. He was on his back on the school lawn, staring at the bright blue sky. Shikamaru was next to him, but he'd drifted off. Nobody was surprised by this, he seemed to sleep through most lunch hours. Their usual group was sitting in various places on a large blanket that had been spread out under the shade of a large tree. Hinata had brought a really large home-made bento today, so they'd decided to make a picnic out of it.

"What are you thinking about?" Sakura asked, leaning over into his line of sight. She was grinning and Naruto grinned back reflexively.

"Nothing much." He said idly, giving a slight shrug. "Just that I've only been here for a month but I feel like I've been here forever."

Sakura's grin widened. "Yeah, it's like that for almost everyone who comes here. It's like we were always meant to be here, you know? A home away from home."

Naruto nodded his agreement as he sat up. The other new addition to there group was regarding him with cold eyes. Naruto fought the urge to grimace under Neji's scrutiny. He and Neji weren't exactly enemies, but they weren't friends either. Neji seemed to go wherever Hinata went, so when she started eating with them, he had too.

Kiba was eyeing Naruto and Sakura with interest. His squinty eyes darted back and forth between them before a large grin spread across his face. Naruto fought the urge to groan.

He knew what Kiba was thinking.

Naruto did not like Sakura, nor did Sakura like him. Kiba's new found assumption was all wrong. Naruto didn't even think Sakura liked Sasuke as much as she claimed. She actually seemed to like a certain someone else...

The bell chimed loudly, echoing across the grounds. The sound made Shikamaru groan as he sat up, batting a few hairs that had strayed from his ponytail out his eyes.

"Dammit." He muttered. When Naruto raised an eyebrow at him in question, Shikamaru shrugged. "I have to attend those meetings for the cultural festival now. It's troublesome."

Naruto smiled and stood up, stretching slightly. Shikamaru thought _everything _was troublesome. Except laying on his back and staring at the sky, or sleeping. His attitude annoyed Ino to no end, but Naruto had grown rather fond of his lazy friend.

"Sakura!" Everyone looked over at the voice. Ten-Ten, the girl with the twin buns from Neji's team was walking toward them. "Tsunade-sensei wants you to go to the office." She informed, and Sakura just nodded. She gave the rest of them a slight wave and headed toward the admissions building.

Naruto stayed behind with Kiba and Shino to help Hinata pack up the bento. They walked back to the classroom together, Kiba laughing at Naruto's loud denials of his supposed affection for Sakura. Class resumed with a lazy kind of ease, everyone so used to the routine of things. Kakashi started rambling on about some English author and his opinions of the world as Naruto mimicked Sasuke and stared out the window.

By the time the final bell rang, Naruto was restless. He had never been able to sit still, and he still had two hours of detention with the teme to sit through. The thought made him want to groan. His self-pitying was quickly interrupted as he walked out of the classroom and saw Sakura leaning against the opposite wall. She hadn't returned to class after lunch. She motioned him over, and when Sasuke walked out the classroom, she did the same.

Naruto looked at her curiously and Sasuke just seemed bored as she led them down the hall, and outside. Naruto didn't fail to notice that they were heading toward the admissions building. "Sakura," He asked, unable to resist the curiousty any longer. "Where are we going?"

"To Tsunade-sensei's office." Sakura said without turning to look at him. Though her tone was relaxed, her body seemed tense as she led both him and Sasuke by the hand. Naruto got a kick out of seeing how much the physical contact annoyed Sasuke.

"Why?" He asked, still curious. Her explanation hadn't been much of an explanation at all.

"Because," Sakura said, taking a deep breath as if to brace herself. "We have our first mission."

* * *

When Temari came to, it was dark. She was no longer in the white hospital room and there were to fluorescent lights hanging on the ceiling. There were no lights at all. Instantly alert, she sat up and looked around.

Her eyes took some time to adjust to the dark. She got to her feet and felt along the wall she had been laying next to. It seemed to be made of concrete.

Was she in a basement?

Her mouth dropped open when the wall she had been touching disappeared. Instead, her hand met with cool metal. Bars. She was in a cage. Or a cell.

Panic set in faster than she could contain it. She started pounding on the bars frantically, hoping to get the attention of someone. When that didn't work, she felt along the three concrete walls that surrounded her, as if there was a hidden way out.

There wasn't one.

It was cold and dank and Temari shivered. She was still in that atrocious hospital gown from earlier, and it did little to shelter someone from the cold. After and hour or so of adapting to her surroundings, she kicked the bars in frustration.

"Dammit!" She yelled to no one in particular. She was surprised when a rather sarcastic laugh answered her.

"Who's there?!" She demanded, tilting her head at the sound of the voice. It was coming from her left. If it were any of the Akatsuki, they'd be standing in front of the bars. They didn't need to hide.

No, this was another prisoner.

The chuckles died off abruptly and there was silence for a few moments. Temari almost gave up on waiting for answer when...

"I'm Sai." The voice said, amusement still plain in his tone. "Welcome to hell."

* * *

**A/N - Haha! The plot thickens...! Kind of. What little plot I've managed to work out anyways. I hope you guys enjoyed it, cause I had a hell of a time writing it. It was very fun, but very hard. Reviews are always appreciated, so I wouldn't mind getting some! No pressure though. XP I'll update as soon as I possibly can, so look forward to it!**


	6. Unwelcome Interference

**A/N - It's finally here! The long awaited chapter. You know, I think I've spoiled you guys with all the recent updates. You're demanding them faster than I can fulfill them, lol. Oh well, I'll keep trying.**

**Unbeta'd, so ignore the spelling errors.  
**

**Disclaimer - Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sensei, not myself. Though if it did belong to me, I'd have asked the fans to open a ramen shop named Ichiraku's just so I could eat there. Mm. Ramen.  
**

* * *

The mission they had received from Tsunade seemed pretty simple to Naruto. Escort old guy from point A to point B. He didn't understand why Sakura was so nervous about it, but every time he glanced at her she was tensed, as if ready for a fight. She sat in the front seat of the van next to Kakashi, who was driving. Sasuke, much to Naruto's dismay, was sitting right next to him and Tazuna was in the back seat.

Even though the mission seemed simple enough, Naruto was still nervous. His Kekkei Genkai wasn't well developed enough to do anything if they ran into trouble. He still had troubles causing simple explosions. He'd have to rely on Sakura and Sasuke if things got rough, and that annoyed him.

He was also very bored. They'd been driving for hours on end and he had nothing to do but watch the scenery change. It was quiet in the van for the most part, with only occasional conversation. Mostly Kakashi talking to Tazuna about some plans to build a bridge or something.

Naruto didn't see what was so important about Tazuna that he needed government hired body guards to protect him, but he didn't ask. Instead, his boredom finally getting the better of him, he decided on something else to do.

Sasuke had been ignoring him the entire trip. Not that Naruto had attempted to talk to him, but it was still aggravating to Naruto. He hated being ignored by anyone. Especially arrogant emo kids with duck-butt haircuts.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke snapped. Naruto grinned and pushed his finger closer to Sasuke's face. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm not touching you." Naruto said innocently. His finger was hovering just next to Sasuke's cheek, close enough that he could feel the body heat the teme's skin was emitting. Sasuke's glared turned into a glower.

"What are you, four?" Sasuke pushed Naruto's hand away and turned to look out the other window. Naruto lifted his hand and put it right back where it had been. Sasuke tensed and then turned to him.

"Naruto," His voice was venomous and it made Naruto shiver. Naruto vaguely realized it was the first time Sasuke had said his name. "If you don't get that finger out of my face right now, I'm going to break it."

"But why?" Naruto's grin was full of mischief and feigned ignorance. "I'm not touching you, Sasuke." That was barely true. One bump of the van and Naruto's finger would connect with Sasuke's cheekbone. There was almost no space between his finger and the teme's cheek. Naruto scooted a little closer to Sasuke and inched his finger forward the tiniest bit. Sasuke snapped.

"Let me go, _teme_!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke grabbed Naruto's wrist and proceeded to twist his arm until it met his back. It was uncomfortable and almost painful and Naruto fought not to yelp.

"I told you I'd break a finger if you didn't stop." Sasuke's mouth was so close to Naruto's ear that he could feel the teme's breath. He shivered involuntarily. "But now I think I'll just break all of them."

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt Sasuke apply pressure to the joint of his index finger. He grit his teeth. There was no way in hell he was gonna let the teme break his fingers. But just as he tried to turn and push Sasuke off him, Kakashi slammed on the breaks.

Sasuke and Naruto were both thrown forward. The only thing that kept them from connecting with the seats in front of them were their seat belts. Naruto heard Tazuna grunt in surprise behind him as the van skidded to the side. Naruto's eyes widened and his heart sped up as he looked out the windshield.

The were going to go off the road.

"Stay calm!" Kakashi instructed as he jerked the wheel violently. Sakura was screaming. The vans tires had already met with the shoulder of the road and the van was tilting dangerously on two wheels. Naruto squinted his eyes closed as he felt the van tip. They were going to roll.

Naruto's heart was racing a mile a minute and Sakura's screaming was grating on his nerves, making goosebumps rise along his arms. He braced himself for impact as they toppled over, the ceiling groaned as it indented and the glass blew out.

Naruto's eyes flew open in shock.

He turned his head slightly to see Sasuke had undone his seatbelt and had surrounded Naruto's body with his own like a shield. Naruto was basically cowering in Sasuke's lap as the van slid a few more feet. He could see blood leaking down from Sasuke's hair and something his chest clenched. Sasuke's dark eyes met his and Naruto's heart rate sped even faster. Sasuke's eyes were unguarded and soft as they looked at him, causing Naruto's already labored breath to hitch.

As quickly as it had come, the expression was replaced by an impassive mask. A moment of silent understanding passed as they stared at each other, Sasuke's arms wound tightly around Naruto's torso. They would never, ever mention this event after this was done and over with.

Finally, the van stopped sliding and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. They were pushed uncomfortably against the ceiling of the upside down vehicle. Sasuke still hadn't released his hold.

"Everyone still breathing?" Kakashi, much to Naruto's chagrin, sounded amused. He couldn't see the man, as Sasuke was blocking his view, but he was sure his strange eyes were closed in one of his weird smiles. Naruto wanted to punch him but instead groaned his confirmation. Relief washed over him when he heard Sakura do the same. Sasuke just grunted. Tazuna let out a breathy gasp from behind them.

"Good." Naruto heard rummaging from the front seat as Kakashi said this. Sasuke let go of his midriff only to grab his wrist. Naruto let Sasuke pull him out through the open gap that had been the window. The second they were out of the van and had managed to stand up, Sasuke dropped his hand. Naruto fought to even his breathing as Sasuke went to pull Tazuna out of the wreckage.

Kakashi helped Sakura crawl out of the passenger window. Naruto gave her a once over and noticed that her right shoulder was badly injured. Blood was seeping from the open wound and silent tears streamed down Sakura's face as she lifted her hand to the wound and started healing it.

"You okay?" He asked, feeling useless. He didn't know what to do and adrenaline was still coursing quickly through him, making him feel like he had to act. Sakura just nodded at him. Her pink hair was matted and charred in some places, but she'd stopped crying. Naruto gave her a weak smile and turned to Kakashi, who was standing by Sasuke and Tazuna.

"Why did we crash?" He demanded. It had all been so sudden that he hadn't given it much thought, but something had to have caused it. If they had just gone through all of that for some stray animal, Naruto was going to lose it. Kakashi stared at him for a few seconds and Naruto noticed that the silver-haired man was uninjured. In fact, he looked completely fine, his clothes weren't even torn. Kakashi raised an arm and pointed toward the road.

"Some unwelcome interference." Kakashi said. Naruto looked in the direction he was pointing and his jaw dropped. Sasuke walked up beside Naruto and looked as well, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Standing in the middle of the road were two people. One was huge, over six feat tall and well muscled with spiky hair. The other was petite looking with long dark hair and pale skin. Naruto couldn't see their faces well but he could have sworn they were smiling.

"Well kids," Kakashi sounded downright jubilant. "Time for us to earn our keep."

* * *

Temari felt like she'd been trapped in the dungeon for months on end, but knew it had only been a few days. None of the Akatsuki had come down in that time, so she couldn't try to bargain for an escape. The only human contact she'd had was with the guards that brought her food once a day and Sai.

She and Sai had talked a lot since she had gotten there, and while the boy wasn't entirely pleasant company, he was better than nothing. Temari was sure she would have lost her mind by now if she'd been stuck down there alone. She had no idea how Sai had handled it.

She had found out that Sai was from the very place she was trying to get to. Konoha High School. He had been sent out on a mission with a girl named Hinata and had been caught by surprise by the Akatsuki. He'd been there prisoner ever since. When Temari had asked about why Konoha hadn't sent someone to break him out, he'd just laughed.

"Hey Sai," Temari was sitting with her back to the cold wall, her eyes closed. She somehow knew Sai was doing the same from his side. "What's your Kekkei Genkai?"

It was one subject they hadn't talked about yet and Temari was not only curious, but hopeful. If the boy had a useful ability, they might be able to escape.

"I'm telekinetic." Sai sounded like he was torn between amusement and boredom. "But don't think you can use me to break out of here, it won't work."

Temari wasn't surprised he'd known what she was thinking. Sai wasn't an idiot. An asshole, yes, but not an idiot.

"Why not?" She asked idly, already disappointed. She couldn't afford to be trapped there much longer. Gaara's life was resting on her shoulders. She could feel herself growing weaker by the days, as if the dungeon was seeping the life out of her.

"The Akatsuki have my ability under lock and key." Temari sighed. She'd thought as much, but that didn't make it any less disappointing. The Akatsuki would have to nullify the powers of their prisoners somehow. She knew the only reason they hadn't done it to her was because hers was pretty useless in this situation. She'd already tried.

"What rank is your ability?" She asked, just trying to fill the silence now. She'd rather talk about anything than listen to quiet of her dark surroundings.

"I'm S-rank." Sai just sounded bored now. "Something you wouldn't know about, since your abilities are weak."

Temari bristled and Sai chuckled. "How do you know if my ability is weak or not?" She wasn't really angry, she was pretty used to being called weak. But the argument was a welcome distraction.

"Because if you had any kind of decent power, the Akatsuki would have you under lock and key too."

Temari scoffed, but a small smile was playing at her lips. He was right, and he knew it. She opened her mouth to ask if he wanted to know her ability when she heard a door open. She snapped her mouth closed and looked out of her cell as light flooded the corridor. It wasn't time for them to be fed, so no one should be down here. Temari grimaced at the fact that she knew the Akatsuki's schedule so well.

There were two guards. They stopped in front of her cell and she raised her eyebrows, confused. The guard at the front was unlocking her door and the one behind him had his arm around a smaller persons throat. She couldn't see the new prisoners face because there was a black bag over their head. The metal groaned as the guard slid the cell door open and stepped inside.

"Get up." He spat. She didn't waste any time complying. Once she was standing the guard grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her out of the cell. Temari watched sympathetically as they tossed the new prisoner inside. The guard that had a grip on her wrist steered her forward a few feet. The second guard finished up locking up what used to be her cell and walked over to unlock the one in front of her.

They pushed Temari forcefully inside of it and she stumbled forward, barely managing to get her hands out in time to stop her face from connecting with the cold pavement. There was a small smile on her lips as she rocked back to her knees and looked around.

Sai was sitting against the wall to the left, his eyes sparkling in amusement as he stared at her. She took in his short dark and hair and pale skin and mourned at how long he'd been trapped down here. His sweats were threadbare and he had metal cuffs locked around his wrists. The smile stayed on her face though.

"Hello, stranger." She said cheerily as she heard the guards slamming the door behind them as they left. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Still unwilling to make that escape attempt?"

Sai's mouth pulled back in a smirk and he raised his hands to indicate the cuffs. "Get these off and I'll not only break you and me out, I'll get the new guy out too. Because I am just that nice."

Temari crawled across the cold floor, too lazy to get up and sat next to him. Her mind was racing at the new opportunity the Akatsuki had unknowingly presented her. "Do you know what my Kekkei Genkai is, Sai?" She asked. He arched an eyebrow at the humor in her voice. "It's Astral Projection." She continued happily.

"Then why haven't you projected yourself and gotten the damn keys yet?" Sai sounded accusatory. Temari rolled her eyes.

"I already tried." She explained. "The Akatsuki kidnapped me. They knew about my powers and they were ready for me."

"What do you mean?"

"My projections can't go more than one mile away from my real body. Which is why my ability is pretty useless. This dungeon that we're trapped in is a little over one mile away from the actual headquarters. I couldn't go for help because we are the in the middle of fucking no where."

"Then why the hell are you so happy?" Sai had resumed sounding bored, as if he'd already given up on her plan before she'd even told him about it.

"Those handcuffs," She pointed to them to accentuate her point. "Are they only rigged to stop your abilities?"

"Yeah."

"So otherwise they're just normal handcuffs?"

"Yeah." Sai sounded annoyed now but Temari laughed under her breath. Things were finally looking up.

"Which part of the cuffs limit your abilities?"

"The chain." She wasn't surprised that he already knew all about them. He'd been down there forever, so surely he'd figured some things out. Sai looked at her and she smiled back at him.

"About a quarter of a mile from here is an abandoned house." She told him. Her heart rate had picked up and adrenaline was pulsing through her. "Inside of that house is an ax."

Sai stared at her for a few more seconds before a smirk pulled across his face. Temari's returning smile was blinding.

It looked like fate was on their side.

* * *

Tsunade glared at the outraged brunette teenager in front of her, and he glared right back. She had called Hinata here to give her a mission and hadn't been surprised when he protective cousin had walked through the door with her.

"You're not going." She repeated and watched Neji bristle. "You're not a part of Hinata's team, there is no reason for you to be there."

"Sai wasn't a part of Hinata's team either and they went on a mission together." Neji pointed out. "And he's the one all of the fuss is about. I'm going with Hinata whether you like it or not.

Tsunade met Kurenai's eyes and when Kurenai merely shrugged, she sighed in defeat. "Fine." She conceded. "But don't let your need to protect your cousin jeopardize the mission."

"What is this mission anyways?" Kiba asked. Tsunade didn't fail to notice how excited he looked. Only kids would think something as dangerous as life threatening battles were awesome.

"You, Hinata, Shino, Neji and Kurenai-sensei are going to track down Team 7." She instructed, looking down at the paperwork in front of her. "And bring them back here."

"Why?" Tsunade rolled her eyes. Kiba asked too many questions.

"Because we've gotten a tip related to Sai's whereabouts and we need Kakashi to help us infiltrate the facility he's being held at."

"Is Sai okay?" It was the first time Hinata had spoken since she'd arrived in Tsunade's office. Tsunade could barely see her, as Neji was standing in front of her protectively. She fought the urge to through the telephone on her desk at the stubborn brunette.

"We don't know." Tsunade told Hinata truthfully. "We're going to assume he's fine and hopefully we'll get there in time to see that assumption true."

Hinata didn't look any more relived, if anything, she looked more tense and nervous. Tsunade rubbed her temples to fight the headache she was getting before passing out files to each of them. The briefing took two hours too long and all Tsunade thought about the entire time was the bottle of sake locked in the second drawer of her desk.

* * *

**A/N - And the plot thickens! Again...lol. Any guesses as to who the new prisoner is? Virtual hugs if someone gets it right!**


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